Story Matters

THE Official HHS Football Site

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Newport
Central Catholic Thoroughbreds fell 12-7 to the Covington Holmes Bulldogs on
the road Friday.

NewCath
(2-4 overall) played well defensively allowing just 210 yards of total offense.
But the Thoroughbreds only punched the ball in the end zone once.

It came in
the fourth quarter. Quarterback Josh Cain threw a 41-yard score to Mac Franzen.

Holmes moved
to 4-2 to match last year’s win total. The Bulldogs finished 4-7 last year
losing 66-20 at Johnson Central in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Cain
completed 15-of-35 passes for 178 yards and three interceptions. Franzen had
four catches for 94 yards.

NewCath
outgained Holmes, 261-210 in total offense. The Thoroughbreds rushed for just
83 yards on 21 carries. Dylan Hayes had 69 yards on 15 attempts.

The connection
ofRashawn Coston to Desean Peterson
made the two big touchdowns for the Bulldogs. The first came in the second
quarter from 30 yards out. NewCath blocked the point-after touchdown. Holmes
led 6-0 at halftime.

The second
touchdown came in the third quarter. The two-point pass failed keeping the
Holmes lead at 12-0.

CYNTHIANA –
The Highlands Bluebirds football team’s coaching staff likes to use games like
these to get the reserves on the field and evaluate them.

They saw plenty of action in the second half with the Bluebirds leading
42-10. Some made their mark in the 69-10 Class 4A, District 7 victory over host
Harrison County.

“It gets exciting as a young guy,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “You’ve been playing freshmen and JV. When
you get in a varsity game, you’re just fired up to play. But it’s still all the
same stuff. That’s how guys getting better. They play a full freshmen schedule
and a full JV schedule.”

The Highlands junior varsity generally plays Saturday morning and the
freshmen often play at 6 p.m. on Thursdays. The junior varsity and freshmen
plays the likes of Cincinnati Moeller, Covington Catholic, Ryle and Louisville
Trinity. The junior varsity is 3-2 and the freshmen are 4-2.

Two sophomores carried the ball twice each on Highlands’ only four
intended running plays. Josh Watson had a 20-yard run and James Grau scored a
touchdown from two yards out in the fourth quarter.

“It feels great preparing for next year,” said Sam Little, Highlands junior offensive linemen. “That’s what football is all about – just
getting better.”

Like most opponents, the Bluebirds wore down the Thorobreds with their
depth. The Bluebirds do not have players playing on both sides of the ball.

Highlands has 91 players on its roster and Harrison County has 32
including 18 freshmen. The Bluebirds do not dress any freshmen for varsity.

Different Surface:

Highlands plays on turf at David Cecil Memorial Field. The Bluebirds
played on grass at Harrison County. Highlands admitted it was an adjustment.

“We were slipping everywhere,” said Brad Veley, Highlands sophomore defensive
lineman. “They were used to it so their
backs got more of an advantage to get around us. We needed to have wider feet
and get lower to cause piles to stop them. That is what helped us toward the
end.”

The eye-popping numbers continue:

A week after its slimmest margin of victory in 14 points (35-21) over
Covington Catholic, Highlands recorded its largest margin of victory of 59
points by a point over its previous high of 58 in a 61-3 win over Mason County.
The Bluebirds’ margin of victory is about 33.8 points.

Highlands unofficially has 3,009 yards in total offense. That averages
501.5 yards a contest.

Scoutingrest of Class 4A:

Highlands is one of four teams in Class 4A still undefeated. Three
teams are 7-0 in Russell County, Knox Central and Warren East. Russell County
and Knox Central could face off for the District 6 championship and possibly
challenge Boyle County and Lexington Catholic for a spot in the state
semifinals.

Lexington Catholic is 6-1 with its only loss coming to the Ensworth
Tigers, a private school on the west side of Nashville. Ensworth is Tennessee’s
two-time Division II-AA state champion. Tennessee separates schools that offer
scholarships into Division II and those that don’t into Division I.

Ashland Blazer and Johnson Central lead District 8. Johnson two Central
has been just fine despite the graduation of the state’s all-time leading
rusher in J.J. Jude. Possible challengers to Warren East in the state
semifinals are North Oldham, Collins and Lone Oak.

Highlands
faces Pendleton County to continue district action Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.

CYNTHIANA –Once they channeled the energy
properly, the Highlands Bluebirds football team rolled to another victory.

Highlands
scored more points against Harrison County than any opponent ever had in a 68-0
victory in Fort Thomas last year. This year’s Bluebird squad topped it by a
point in a 69-10 victory here Friday.

Top-ranked Highlands
stayed unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Class 4A, District 7 action and Harrison
County remained winless at 0-6 and 0-1. The five-time defending state champion Bluebirds
have won 26 in a row and moved to 79-2 since the start of 2007. The win also
guaranteed their 57th consecutive winning season dating back to a 4-5-1
campaign in 1955.

Highlands
outgained the hosts, 532-163 in total offense. The offensive line blocked well
on all but five plays when the Thorobreds sacked the Bluebird quarterbacks for
minus-36 yards.

The Bluebirds
intended to pass the pigskin on all but five plays. Senior quarterback Donovan
McCoy guided the offense in the first half completing 18-of-22 passes for 385
yards and six touchdowns. Junior Drew Houliston took over in the second half
and completed 10-of-13 passes for 160 yards.

“They were really sending a lot of pressure so screens
were there,” said Dale Mueller,
Highlands Co-Head Coach. “We wound up
throwing more screens than we normally would and gained a lot of yards with
them.”

McCoy and
Houliston completed passes to 11 different receivers. They often found
themselves with a lot of green grass in front of them. Jensen Feggins and
Brandon Hergott had four catches and two touchdowns each. Feggins had 129 yards
receiving and Hergott 81. Ryan Donovan and Luke Brockett had four catches a
piece for 76 and 69 yards respectively.

“It frustrates (defenses) a lot, but it just shows we
can run the ball and pass the ball at the same time,” Feggins said. “It
benefits us well. If our passing isn’t working, our run game is there for us.”

Harrison
County threw for just 69 yards. Quarterback Robbie Stroub completed 7-of-16
passes for that total with no interceptions.

“We played the deep third (defense),” said Grayson Heck, Highlands sophomore defensive
back. “We just kept everything in front
of us and did not give up any big plays.”

Highlands
overcame two turnovers in the first quarter to lead 21-3 after that stanza thanks
to three quick scores. The Bluebirds recovered a Thorobred fumble and appeared
headed to the end zone for their first defensive touchdown of the year. But
they spiked the ball at the Harrison County 2 out of the end zone for a
touchback giving the Thorobreds the ball at their 20.

“Sometimes, things just happen,” Mueller said. “Guys
just get a little carried away.”

After McCoy
hit Colin Seidl for a 37-yard score after a short Thorobred punt, Highlands
forced another three-and-out. The Bluebirds drove the Thorobred 22 before
throwing an interception.

But the Bluebirds
took over at the Thorobred 2 after a Harrison County turnover. They scored
quickly when McCoy found Justin Weyer from two yards out.

Highlands
answered a Harrison County field goal quickly. The Bluebirds took the opening
kickoff to the Thorobred 49 and Feggins took a pass over the middle 49 yards to
the house.

The
Bluebirds extended the lead to 42-10 at halftime allowing the younger players
to get some playing time (see side story). Feggins scored on a 56-yard
touchdown and Jac Collinsworth had a 14-yard touchdown reception. After Justin
Hunter returned that kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, Nick True responded with
a 39-yard touchdown reception for Highlands.

The
Bluebirds forced the running clock with 5:42 remaining in the third. Hergott
hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Houlston.

It did not
take long for Highlands to score again when Joe Paolucci recovered a Thorobred
fumble. Brockett scored on a 27-yard pass from Houliston. The Bluebirds led
55-10 after three quarters.

Highlands
scored 14 more in the fourth. Hergott recorded his second touchdown reception from
19 yards out and James Grau scored on a 2-yard run off the right side.

The
Bluebirds did well in kicking extra-points. Brockett hit all eight extra-point
attempts and Highlands failed on the run on a high snap of the other attempt.

The
Thorobreds did have some success running the ball out of their I-formation and
split backfields rushing for 94 yards on 37 carries to minus-13 on nine carries
for the Bluebirds. Zach Mastin led Harrison County with 70 yards on 13 carries.

“I think they’re a well-coached team,” Mueller said. “They’ve
got some stuff that they do well and they stuck with it. I think Harrison
County is a football team that’s going to keep getting better and better. They
have some young guys that are going to be fired up, be coachable and do well.”

Highlands
faces Pendleton County to continue district action Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The
Highlands Bluebirds soccer team recorded a huge 1-0 victory over the Covington
Catholic Colonels on Thursday.

Highlands
has won three in a row to move to 9-6-2 overall. Covington Catholic, coach by
former Highlands coach Jeremy Robertson, fell to 11-5-2.

Emerson
Holladay scored the game’s only goal on an assist from Michael Cirulli. Nick Breslin
recorded 10 saves at goalkeeper.

The
Bluebirds take on Covington Holy Cross at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Lightning cancels Highlands, NewCath women’s soccer
game:

Lightning
storms forced the postponement of Wednesday’s annual District 36 clash between
the Highlands Ladybirds and Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds soccer teams.
NCC head coach Kevin Turnick said a rescheduling of the game “does not look
promising.”

The teams
played the junior varsity contest then held Senior Night activities. The lightning
started shortly thereafter.

The game is
not needed for seeding purposes like the old days in District 19 with Bishop
Brossart and Campbell County. The teams face off for the district title on Oct.
11 at 6 p.m. at Tower Park.Both teams resume action Saturday. Highlands plays host to Boyle County at 7 p.m. and NewCath plays host to Russell.

Coming off
its most complete game of the year, the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds
football team faces another potential challenge from a bigger school in
non-district action.

The 2-3
Thoroughbreds travel to Covington to face the improved 3-2 Holmes Bulldogs on
Friday. The Bulldogs time finished 4-7 last year in Terry Liggin’s first
season. They finished third in Class 4A, District 7 behind Highlands and
Covington Catholic before losing 66-20 at Johnson Central in the first round of
the playoffs.

Holmes
defeated Scott and 1A power Beechwood to open the season before losing on the
road to two undefeated teams in Simon Kenton and Cooper. They opened district
action with a 64-7 win at Pendleton County on Friday.

The only
common opponent is 6-0 Simon Kenton. The Pioneers beat the Bulldogs, 31-7 on
Sept. 7 in a game called at halftime because of lightning. Simon Kenton held
off NewCath, 28-20 at Newport Stadium eight days later in a game the
Thoroughbreds had a chance to tie before fumbling at the Pioneer 5 on 4th-and-2
with less than two minutes left in the game.

“(The Bulldogs) have very good talent and speed,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “It looks as if they are buying in (to
Liggins) and they do some things really well.”

Holmes’ quarterback
is Rashawn Colston. Their main offensive threats are running back Jonathan
Scruggs and wide receiver Desean Peterson. The NCC 4-4 defense will face a Holmes
offense that runs unorthodox Wing-T and Spread sets. The Bulldogs have a
Diamond shotgun package where two running backs line up next to Colston and
another behind him.

The
Bulldogs are outscoring opponents by an average of 25-20.6. Conversely, the
Thoroughbreds are outscoring the opposition, 31-23.8. NewCath has yielded 745
yards rushing and 783 passing for an average of 305.6 yards a contest.

NewCath
runs a spread offense. The Thoroughbreds average 348.4 yards per contest
offensively behind a good offensive line. They’ve run for 843 and passed for 899
yards offensively. Dylan Hayes leads NewCath with 523 yards rushing on 78
carries with eight touchdowns for an average of just more than 6.7 a carry.

“We’re getting a lot better at blocking,” said Steve Schneider, NewCath senior offensive right
guard. “We’re getting healthy and
knowing the formations and who to block is making us better. The (offensive)
line has had two good days (of practice) this week – a lot of energy.”

NewCath
quarterback Josh Cain has completed 68-of-108 passes for 899 yards and eight
touchdowns to 11 different receivers. Mac Franzen leads the Thoroughbreds with
23 catches for 442 yards and two touchdowns. Pete Collopy and Tyler Lyon also
have two touchdown receptions for NewCath.

Defensively,
Franzen leads the team with two interceptions. Teammate Mason Myers has two
fumble recoveries.

Eviston said
the injury situation is the about the same as last week. Several key players
are back but still nursing a few things with three or four players still out
for a while.

“It’s that time of the year, the heart of your season,
in which teams just have to grind,”
Eviston said. “I honestly believe the
teams that can practice well right now and truly focus on their task at hand
will be the teams that will be the most competitive at the end of the year. We
are preaching that as much as possible to our kids, and even though we have our
moments, our kids are working hard.”

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

It is a
tale of two football teams at completely opposite ends of the Class 4A
spectrum.

The
Highlands Bluebirds sit pretty at 5-0 overall and 1-0 in District 7 action
following a 35-21 win over Covington Catholic on Friday. Class 4A’s top-ranked
squad owns a 25-game winning streak and is 78-2 since the start of 2007. The
Bluebirds average 51.8 points, 7.4 touchdowns and 492.8 yards of offense per
contest. Highlands’ average margin of victory is 28.8 points.

Highlands
travels to Cynthiana on Friday to face a struggling Harrison County Thorobreds
football team that has a new head coach in Jim Carr. Harrison County is 0-5
coming off a bye week and faces Highlands for its first district contest of the year. The Thorobreds average just 12.6 points and 213.4 yards
a game.

Highlands
won last year’s contest 68-0 and this year’s result could be similar based on two
common opponents in Scott County and Mason County. A week after Highlands handed
2011 Class 6A state runner-up Scott County its only loss this year 60-37, Scott
County manhandled Harrison County, 61-6. Mason County beat the Thorobreds,
37-22 on Sept. 7 before coming to Fort Thomas and losing 61-3 to the Bluebirds
a week later.

Highlands
just has to be itself to win this game. The Bluebirds wear teams down with
their depth. They don’t plan to take their feet off the gas pedal even though
they are heavy favorites. Teams often get upset when that happens.

“One thing about us offensively and defensively is we’re
geared to adjust to whatever the other team is doing,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “This week is getting ready for Harrison
County, but really, it is a lot more so getting better as a football team. Even
(Tuesday at practice), we put our ones against our ones working on making
blocks and getting off blocks.”

With their
spread offense, teams don’t know if Highlands will pass a lot, run a lot or use
a balanced attack on a weekly basis. The Bluebirds have run for 1,457 yards and
passed for 1,007.

“It just says we’re a group of guys that work really
hard to do a lot of things,” said
Justin Weyer, Highlands sophomore wide receiver. “We have a lot of confidence in Coach Mueller that he’ll come up with
great schemes to help us win the game.”

Highlands
senior quarterback Donovan McCoy leads Highlands with 441 yards on 62 carries
with 10 touchdowns for an average of just more than 7.1 a touch. Teammate Zach
Harris has 392 yards on 66 carries with eight touchdowns for an average of just
less than six yards a touch. Ryan Donovan, Colin Seidl and Jaylen Hayes have
rushed for at least 168 yards for the Bluebirds.

McCoy has
also completed 63-of-105 passes for 919 yards and 11 touchdowns. Fourteen
different receivers have catches for Highlands. Luke Turner leads the way with
12 for 217 yards and Seidl has nine for 136. Nick True, Ryan
Greene, Turner and Jac Collinsworth have two touchdown receptions a piece for
the Bluebirds.

The
Highlands defense is allowing 23 points per game but has improved in recent
weeks. The Bluebirds just have to watch the trick plays. Covington Catholic and
Scott County burned them for scores on those trick plays. Quentin Murray and
Blake Schutte lead Highlands with two interceptions each.

“You just have to play your key better,” Schutte said of defending trick plays. “If you know what you need to do, things
will play out right. We’re trying to get better and better.”

Harrison
County has rushed for 628 yards and passed for 439. Deshon Talbott has 376
yards rushing on 47 carries with four touchdowns for an average of eight yards
a carry. Quarterback Robbie Stroub has completed 26-of-55 passes for 354 yards.
Harrison County’s leading receivers are Justin Hunter with 11 catches for 123
yards and LeeRonte Roberts with 10 catches for 205 yards.

Teams are
scoring an average of 44.6 per contest against the Thorobreds. Robert Pawley has
one interception for Harrison County.

“They play a very attacking defense,” Mueller said. “Mason
County had a tough time getting the ball off against them. They were sending
six, seven or eight guys regularly. With it being a new head coach, we’re not
really sure what they’re going to wind up doing against us. We’re going into
the game prepared for anything.”

Game time
is 7:30 p.m. in Cynthiana.

Coaching Clarification:

After the
win Friday against Covington Catholic, Mueller said to call himself and Brian
Weinrich co-head coaches. The roster lists Mueller as Head Football Coach and
Weinrich as Assistant Head Coach.

The two
consult each other on a lot of aspects of the program. Mueller makes a lot of
the decisions on offense and Weinrich on defense.

Mueller
took over the program in 1994. Weinrich joined the staff a year later and has
been the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator for 10 years.

For the
second straight game, the Highlands Bluebirds soccer team put a team away.

The
Bluebirds scored two goals in the second half to down the visiting Calvary
Christian Cougars, 3-0 Tuesday at Tower Park. They’ve won two in a row to move
to 8-6-1. This comes after a 1-4-1 stretch after starting the year 5-2.

“We’re just trying to instill good values in them that
when you get a lead, let’s be comfortable with that lead,” said Matthew Winkler, Highlands head coach. “We need to get our risk-taking to a normal
level. If it’s a 3-0 or 2-0 win, it’s okay. They’re good wins against a quality
team.”

Calvary
fell to 6-5-1. The Cougars tied Dixie Heights on Sept. 15.

This marked
the fifth shutout of the year for Highlands. Goalkeeper Nick Breslin stopped
all six Cougar shots and received nice help from defenders like Jimmy Penrod
and Alex Shepherd. One Calvary shot hit the top bar.

“(The Cougars) were just like us,” Breslin said. “They
had a lot of talent up top. Our defense stuck together and fought through that
3-0 win. They had some unlucky shots. But our defense did well overall.”

The
Bluebirds scored the only goal of the first half with 10:32 remaining. Andrew
Barnes saved the ball from going out near the goal and passed back to Christian
Austin. Austin landed the shot to Grote’s right for the score.

“We seem to come out flat sometimes,” Barnes said. “It
seems like when we get a goal, we pick it up. It makes us comfortable. It gives
us hope even though we should have it in the beginning.”

The first goal
of the second half came with 24:06. Grote fouled Emerson Holladay in the box.
Holladay nailed the penalty kick passed Calvary’s Kipp Barnes. Grote had to
come out of the game for the penalty kick because he committed the hard foul
drawing a yellow card.

It was a
physical game. Calvary drew three yellow cards to none for Highlands.

“I’m a former referee and they know that,” Winkler said. “I
still have a good (relationship) with the guys that work (our games) so tell
the guys it’s my job to deal with it if there’s a call that’s controversial.
They just need to be out there playing soccer.”

Highlands
faces Covington Catholic on Thursday at 8 p.m. back at Tower Park.

The two
Northern Kentucky women’s soccer powers meet again for bragging rights
Wednesday at Tower Park.

But it’s not
like it was even a year ago in the old 19th District. The Highlands Ladybirds
and Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds often met many times for postseason survival
and seeding purposes in those days. The two battled Campbell County and Bishop
Brossart to advance to the 10th Region tournament.

They both
advance to the 9th Region Tournament this year. Bellevue and Dayton have teams
but won’t participate in the 36th District Tournament.

Last year
saw two tight battles. NewCath won the regular season game 3-2. But Highlands
came back and beat the Lady Breds, 1-0 in the district semifinals. The
Ladybirds won the district championship before falling 4-1 to eventual state
champion Notre Dame in the 10th Region title game.

So far this
season, NewCath has tasted victory way more than Highlands. The Lady Breds are
10-4-1 after losing 3-2 to Covington Holy Cross on Monday. Sam Bunzel and
Christina Seibert scored goals for NewCath with Erin Ackerson making two saves.
The Lady Breds have outscored opponents 51-16.

“I like their work ethic and commitment to keep getting
better as the season goes,” said Kevin Turnick,
NewCath head coach. “They are willing
and eager to always learn more about the game and even play new positions if it
benefits the overall team. We have stressed to always be accountable for your
play on the field and learn from our opportunities. We have been very
competitive in all of our games so far this season and our record and goals for
and against prove that. Our scoring has been diverse and our defense has played
solid so far.”

Meanwhile,
Highlands has struggled to a 2-9-2 record against a tough schedule. The
Ladybirds have been outscored 38-9 and have been shut out seven times.

“I think they’re a great group of girls. They’d
obviously love to be winning more games,” said Tommy Kearns, Highands head coach. “But sometimes, the results don’t go your way. They come to practice
every day and work hard. They’re trying to get bigger, faster and stronger
every day. They know they’re playing better. We’re playing some of the best
teams in the state to challenge ourselves for October.”

Freshmen
Brooklynn Rivers has emerged as Highlands’ leading goal-scorer. She has six goals
and junior Kelsey Etherton has scored two. Jesse Daley and Sarah Owen split
time at goalkeeper for the Ladybirds. The Ladybirds have lost Kara Painter and
Ava Abner for the year with injuries.

“Basically, we take one game at a time,” Owen said. “We
look at what we’ve done well at that game and we learn from all our mistakes.
We take the next play and the next game as the important one. Our fans should
not let down on us because we’re not letting down.”

NewCath
graduated a number of seniors from last year’s team that finished 16-6-1. That
includes Olivia Huber and Aubrey Muench, the second and third-leading point-scorers
in team history. But Seibert said the team chemistry has been great this year.
The Lady Breds won the Poage Landings Tournament in Ashland and Russell earlier
this season.

“I think any issue on the team is considered our
issue,” Seibert said. “We take that to heart when someone else is
hurting. We all help them do better on the field.”

The Lady
Breds may be favored to win. But NewCath Sweeper Courtney Hagedorn said
Highlands is still dangerous. Both teams run a 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward)
attack.

“They have a lot of speed up top,” Hagedorn said. “We’re
going to do our best to mark up on them and contain them.”

The old
saying in rivalry games goes, “Play with emotion, but don’t get emotional.”
That could prove to be the case this year.

“One of the things we say here is ‘Be quick but don’t
hurry,” Kearns said. “You need to play within yourselves and
don’t try to do too much.”

Turnick has
a simple way to handle emotion. He’s been the head coach of the Lady Breds
since 1999.

“For 80 minutes, your focus should be on soccer and
the role you play on the team,” Turnick said. “Keep your emotions in check and then at
end of the game, you can celebrate.”

Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Newport
Central Catholic Lady Breds soccer team reached double-digits in the win column
Saturday with a 6-1 win over the George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals.

NewCath
improved to 10-3-1 with the triumph and George Rogers Clark fell to 4-8. The
Lady Breds are 4-1 in their last five games.

Sam Bunzel
led NewCath with three goals. Christina Seibert followed with two goals and
sister Lucy had another. Teammate Erin Ackerson made four saves in net.

NewCath
faces Covington Holy Cross at 6 p.m. Monday.

Highlands volleyball drops five in Cake Classic:

The losing
streak for the Highlands Ladybirds volleyball team hit 10 over the weekend as
it lost all five matches in the Cake Classic.

Things
started with a 2-0 loss (25-13, 25-15) to Beechwood for the second time this
year on Friday. Jessica Ginter led Highlands with six kills. The other leaders
for the Ladybirds were Kaitlin Hall with 11 assists, Sarah Schweitzer with two
blocks, and Katie Van Curen with 14 digs.

Highlands
then lost to Boone County, 2-0 (26-24, 25-18) on Saturday for the second time
this season. Hall led the way with 11 assists and Sydney Lindeman had six kills
and 14 digs. Mallory Seidel followed with three blocks and Ginter had two aces.

The Ladybirds
then lost to Lexington Tates Creek, 2-0 (25-22, 27-25) to complete pool play.
Ginter had six kills and two aces and Hall had 16 assists. Van Curen followed
with 14 digs and Seidel had three blocks.

Highlands
followed that with a third loss this season to Beechwood, 2-0 (25-21, 25-14).
Hall had 14 assists and Van Curen 10 digs. Seidel followed with six kills.

The
Ladybirds came close to earning their first win but came up a few plays short
in a 2-1 defeat (15-25, 25-8, 15-17). Ginter had six kills with Hall recording
eight assists and two blocks. Van Curen had 14 digs. Sarah Schweitzer had two
blocks and Abby Schweitzer had four aces.

Highlands
travels to Ryle on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Ladybirds fall at Woodford County:

The Highlands
Ladybirds soccer team played better Saturday but came up short in a 2-1 loss at
the Woodford County Lady Jackets.

The
Ladybirds fell to 2-9-2 with the loss, including 0-6-1 in their last seven
games. They are 0-9-2 against teams outside Boone County. Woodford County also beat
Highlands, 3-1 on Sept. 12 in the Lexington Catholic Challenge Cup.

Kelsey Etherton scored the lone goal for the Ladybirds. At goalkeeper, Jesse Daley made three saves and Sarah Owen had one.

Highlands
takes on Newport Central Catholic on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

NewCath volleyball loses four at Fall Classic:

The Newport
Central Catholic Lady Breds lost all four matches in the Fall Classic at Mother
of Mercy in Cincinnati. They are 8-18 overall.

NewCath
lost to Findlay (Ohio) on Saturday, 2-0 (25-6, 25-9). Whitney Fields led the
Lady Breds with three kills and Alyssa Maier had five assists with Maria
Froendhoff making 11 digs.

The Lady
Breds then lost 2-0 to Columbus Bishop Hartley, 2-0 (25-17, 25-17). Fields had
four kills with Maier making 11 assists and Froendhoff nine digs.

On Sunday,
NewCath fell 2-0 (25-8, 25-11) to Louisville Holy Cross. Five players had one
kill each for the Lady Breds. Maier had four assists and Froendhoff 12 digs.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The
Highlands Bluebirds and Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds soccer teams got
off 11 shots a piece. But the Bluebirds connected on two of them in a 2-0 victory
on Saturday at Tower Park.

The
Bluebirds snapped a three-game winless streak to move to 7-6-2 overall and
2-4-2 since starting the year 5-2. They also moved to 11-0-2 against NewCath
since 2004.

“It does not matter if we’re having a good year, an off
year or if they’re having a good year or off year, this is always a fantastic
game,” said Matthew Winkler,
Highlands head coach. “(NewCath head
coach) Mike (McDonald) and I get along really well so it’s fun to bring the
squads together and see where we are. After the last couple weeks, it’s really nice
to have a decent win. We’ll see where we can go from there.”

NewCath
dropped to 2-6-4. The Thoroughbreds once again played good defense but could
not manufacture goals. They’ve been outscored 20-14 this year.

“We made big mistakes in the back,” McDonald said. “When
we do that, we give up goals. That’s what it came down to (Saturday). Once we
get everybody on the same page playing as a team, we’ll be good. We have talent
all over the field. We just have to put it together.”

Both
goalkeepers made big saves with a lot of help defensively. Highlands goalkeeper
Nick Breslin made 11 saves and NewCath counterpart Nathan Grosser made nine. Highlands
defenders like Jimmy Penrod, Alex Shepherd and Franklin Graves constantly
booted balls away from the goal.

The Newport
Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team snapped its three-game winning
streak in a big way Friday in Alexandria.

The smashed
the host Bishop Brossart Mustangs, 58-0 to open Class 2A, District 6 action.
NewCath (2-3 overall, 1-0 district) ran away with 30 points in the second
quarter to go up 44-0 at halftime to force the running clock.

The Thoroughbreds
outgained the Mustangs (1-4, 0-1), 453-63 in total offense in a balanced
attack. NewCath had seven first downs to four for Brossart.

This
included 248-37 on the ground. NewCath ran the ball 27 times for an average of
about 9.2 per carry. Brossart averaged just more than one yard per rush.

Dylan Hayes
led the Thoroughbreds rushing for 90 yards on nine carries with a touchdown.
Freshman running back Jacob Smith came in and ran for 84 yards on four carries
with a touchdown.

“We just prepared to play sound football,” said Eddie Eviston, NewCath head coach. “We really didn’t look at anything like, ‘We
can’t let him run outside or we can’t let him run inside.’ When we do that, we
can be pretty good and stop someone. That’s what we did (Friday).”

Defensively,
NewCath focused on Brossart senior running back Jacob Elbert. He had seven
carries for minus-2 yards and completed just 1-of-3 passes for nine yards
before leaving with an injury.

The
Highlands Bluebirds knew they’d be facing their toughest challenge defensively
this season.

The
Covington Catholic Colonels came into town having outscored their four Kentucky
opponents, 166-6. Senior Colonel quarterback Blake Bir completed 82-of-144
passes for 1,315 yards and 17 touchdowns entering the contest.

But the
Bluebirds contained Bir and company in the 35-21 win. That started with the
offense grinding things out on the ground and keeping the Colonel offense off
the field.

Bir
completed 12-of-17 passes for just 132 yards with one interception and three
touchdowns. Matt Summe led CovCath with three catches for 63 yards.

“We just show up every day and keep getting better,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “We’re not worried about stats or points.
They’re buying into what we’re doing. Our guys up front did the job. We got a
lot of pressure (on Blake Bir).”

The
Colonels only rushed for 105 yards on 25 carries. Bir’s brother Luke led the
way with 54 yards on six runs.

“They have so many playmakers,” Weinrich said. “I
love watching their offense on film as a fan. We just tried to play smart,
communicate and get after it.”

The
Colonels enjoyed the lead briefly in the first quarter. Bir found Ethan Egbers
from two yards out on 4th-and-goal with 2:40 left in the first quarter. That
drive was set up when Adam Fischer returned an interception to the Bluebird
23. Highlands’ Ryan Greene saved a touchdown with an open-field tackle on the
return.

The
Colonels later tied up the game in the second on a reverse-throwback pass. Bir
found Matt Summe wide-open on the play to tie the game at 14 with 4:02 left in
the half.

“We just had to adjust to his calls,” said Andrew Abner, Highlands defensive back, of Bir. “He was audibling every play. We have to
stay back (on running plays) until it’s a guaranteed pass then come up.”

The
Bluebirds came back with a big special teams play in the third quarter. The
Colonels muffed a punt and senior Blake Myers recovered for Highlands at the
CovCath 18. The Bluebirds scored minutes later to take a 28-14 lead.

“There’s a rule where you’re not allowed to advance a
muffed punt,” Myers said. “I picked up the ball and remembered that
rule so I stopped. It gave us momentum because it gave us the ball inside their
30 in very good scoring position.”

The
Colonels did score their final touchdown in the third when Bir completed a
3-yard pass to Summe with 5:09 left in the third. CovCath drove to the
Highlands 34 later in the quarter but Quentin Murray picked off Bir’s pass at
the Bluebird 16.

The
Colonels had just one more possession after that. They ended up punting.

Emotional week for Highlands:

The
Bluebirds carried the initials of Janet Hewling on them for the game. Hewling,
87, a long-time Fort Thomas Independent Schools employee, passed away recently.
Hewling is Weinrich’s grandmother and helped raise him.

“She really epitomizes what you like to see in a high
school football player,” said Dale
Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach. “She
was such a great worker. She never missed a day. We’re all products of our
environments. But if there’s anybody who is a product of one person, it’s Brian
and his grandmother. Brian is a great husband and father. He’s also a great
servant to the team.”

Highlands continues District 4 action Friday at
Harrison County. Game time is 7 p.m. in Cynthiana.

Following a
week of the usual hype that saw even some well-known figures get into the act,
it was time to decide things on the football field.

The result
proved similar to the last seven meetings between the two Northern Kentucky
powers. The Highlands Bluebirds showed they are still the team to beat in Class
4A with a 35-21 win over the arch-rival Covington Catholic Colonels on Friday
at David Cecil Memorial Stadium in the District 7 opener for both teams.

Highlands
moved to 78-2 since the start of 2007 including 8-0 against CovCath. The
Bluebirds (5-0 overall, 1-0 district) have won 25 in a row and 43 straight at
home. The Bluebirds also improved to 42-17 all-time against the Colonels.

The
Bluebirds did it once again with their offensive versatility. They played
quick-strike football the first four games. But in this contest, Highlands
moved the quick Colin Seidl into the backfield and grinded things out from many
different angles in the victory and kept CovCath’s potent offense off the field.

“It is a great defense,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Co-Head Coach, of the
Colonel defense. “They have a lot of
starters back and we have a lot of respect for them. We felt the run was there
and we have a pretty versatile offense so we went with that.”

The
Bluebirds ran the ball 61 times for 291 yards for an average of just more than
4.77 a contest. Quarterback Donovan McCoy led the way with 29 carries for 110
yards and a touchdown. Seidl finished with 86 yards on 11 carries with a
touchdown and Zach Harris had 75 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns.

Friday, September 21, 2012

New
Highlands Ladybirds Head Softball Coach Rob Coffey has high expectations for
the program and the search committee saw that enthusiasm. The committee
consisted of Principal Brian Robinson, Director of Athletics Dale Mueller and
Head Baseball Coach Jeremy Baioni. The hiring became official Monday.

“We think we’re in position to not only win the
(Ninth) Region, but battle for state championships,” Mueller said. “There’s
a lot of young girls who are fired up in Fort Thomas and are excellent,
college-scholarship players. Rob is looking to have a year-round softball
program so the girls can develop their skills all year. He’s looking to step up
every aspect of the program to another level.”

Robinson
said the committee reached out to teachers in the Fort Thomas Independent
School District first, but none showed interest. They had several applicants
before naming two finalists.

Coffey, 44,
has 20 years of coaching experience that includes basketball and soccer in
addition to softball. That may not include any high school experience. But
Coffey started the Amateur Athletic Union organization called Gametime that he
currently directs. Coffey played baseball, basketball and football during his
high school years. He graduated from Highlands in 1986.

“I think with the young group we have right now, we
have a chance to compete and start winning real soon,” Coffey said. “We
have several talented players already in the pipeline. I’m not naive enough to
think we’ll win the (Ninth) Region within the next two years. But with some
training and creating some depth in the program, we should be able to compete
with some of the top teams in the Ninth Region. Going forward, the biggest
challenge I think we’ll have is keeping the pipeline wet.”